Avatar Drabbles for the Soul
by elemeno
Summary: A collection of Avatar drabbles, some romantic and some not.
1. Zuaang: Just Like Me

Zuko's golden eyes darted around madly, their gaze shifting from one personification to the other: Azula, his coldhearted, power-hungry sister that painted the perfect picture of evil; and Aang, the "good guy", the last spark of hope for the rest of the world -- but mostly, Aang was just a child in a world where everyone seemed against him.

They were surprisingly alike, Zuko realized, if you left out some of the major details of their backgrounds. Aang, for example, had left his people long ago, and while Zuko was forced out rather than given a choice, the both of them still had the same desire to restore the honor they lost because of it.

It was this that made him hesitate in making his decision; why was it, he wondered, why was it that when he had finally found someone who shared the same journey as him -- to prove to the people around them that they weren't the cowards they were always mistaken for -- he had to sacrifice his _own_ honor in order to save him?

As he was snapped back to reality by the shouts of fighting, he instinctively thrusted his arm forwards to shoot out rope of fire, breaking the hold that Katara's water whip had on his sister. "Sorry, Aang," he muttered under his breath, realizing that he had already made his decision. Unsurprisingly, the Avatar showed no look of shock when Zuko had chosen to stay on Azula's side; after all, Aang needed to fight to restore his honor. It was his duty -- his _destiny._

_Just like me,_ Zuko thought to himself before firing another blast of fire at the Water Tribe girl, a look of regret lingering in his eyes all the while.


	2. Zucest: Hatred

He wasn't sure who started the kiss, or why they were both returning it so eagerly, but all that mattered was that it was happening -- and, on some feral, lustful level, he was enjoying it. It was the way her precisely-sharpened nails clawed at his back, creating streaks of red; the way she occasionally bit at his lip and how he bit back; the way she made his blood rush with adrenaline as if he were fighting.

As soon as it began, it was over; their tongues untangled and slipped out of the other's mouth as their dance of dominance ended and their bodies jerked away from each other, both of the Fire Nation royalties gasping for breath while managing to meet the other's gaze. Zuko was glaring deep into his sister's golden eyes, showing nothing but a combination of lust and rage; and Azula managed to keep a glare of indifference on her brother as a smirk worked its way across her lips.

"I hate you," Zuko hissed between breaths, but Azula either didn't hear him or, more likely, didn't care as she pulled him back to her, lips meeting once again in a buss; and Zuko kissed her back without hesitation, fueled by nothing but the lust that was welling in the pit of his stomach.

If both hatred and love could create this kind of lust, Zuko pondered as he grabbed at Azula's hair, maybe the two emotions weren't as different as they seemed.


	3. MaiLee: Needed

Mai shut her eyes tightly and leaned back against the tree, ignoring the pain of the pressure that was being put on the gash on her shoulder blade. Sharply-filed nails dug into the bark as she tried to convince herself that what she saw wasn't possible -- it was just an illusion, or maybe a trick of the light. Despite her furious attempts to eradicate the image from her mind, she was greeted with the same scene when she opened her eyes again: a bloodied-up Ty Lee on her hands and knees, burned and scarred fingers clutching at the earth with all their might as sobs wracked her body. The raven-haired teenager sharply inhaled, unsure whether or not she could confront this so pathetically, depressingly _sad_ version of Ty Lee, or whether she should go back the way she came and give the pink-clad girl a chance to collect herself.

Her bond with the usually overly-perky girl overrode any other feelings of doubt, however, and Mai, still slightly nervous of how Ty Lee would react to her trying to comfort her, put on a straight face and calmly walked over. She placed a hand on the crying girl's shoulder, shocking Ty Lee back to reality; she gasped and looked up, eyes widened with shock. "So," Mai began, subtley looking over Ty Lee to look for any severe wounds, "Any particular reason as to why you're in such a vulnerable position in the middle of the battlefield, crying?"

A smile worked its way onto the acrobatic girl's face and she jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg when she stood on it. She threw her arms around Mai and sobbed into her shoulder, holding her tightly as she spoke through her tears. "I thought...I thought you were dead..."

Mai couldn't help but smile and hug her friend back, being careful not to put too much pressure on the girl's fragile body. "And leave you to fend for yourself out here? Come on, even _I_ wouldn't do that." The two girls pulled away and smiled warmly at each other, finally finding a moment of peace after a gruesome battle.

It felt nice to be needed.


	4. Tyzula: Black

Azula's aura was black, and it drove Ty Lee crazy.

Ty Lee _hated_ the color black. It was dull, dreary and all-around boring; not to mention that if it was the color of your aura, like it was with Azula's, it meant that you were void of emotion. Of course, there would always be an occasional flicker of deep, dull reds in the princess's aura when she was angry, and even a bit of pink showed up when she was in a particularly good mood. But too often was it that agonizing _black,_ and Ty Lee vowed to do something about it -- and she did.

Mai was absentmindedly sharpening her knives as Azula explained their next attack on the Avatar, both girls unaware of the look of frustration on Ty Lee's usually-smiling face. She just couldn't _take _it anymore! The reds and the blacks were sending her mind into an annoyed frenzy, and, determined to force a reaction out of Azula, the acrobatic girl leapt from her spot on the ground and grabbed Azula by the shoulders, pulling her closer as their lips met in a one-sided kiss.

After five seconds Ty Lee pulled away, grinning victoriously as a flash of pink appeared around her friend's shocked form. Azula could only stare back at her companion incredulously (while making an effort not to glare at Mai as she burst into a fit of laughter), only managing to stammer, "What was _that?!"_

Ty Lee shrugged, still smiling. "I was tired of your aura being so black and red all the time, so I decided to try and make it pink!" She paused and looked Azula up and down, nodding in approval when she finished. "And it looks like I succeeded!"

Of course, the kiss had _also_ succeeded in making Ty Lee's aura a bit pinker as well -- but that could be her little secret.


	5. Tymaizula: Weak

Azula rarely let herself show emotions that were most commonly associated with having a child's personality -- namely sadness and excitement. Happiness wasn't completely ruled out, as she was well aware she had to show some sort of approval if she wanted her lessers to know what pleased her and what didn't. Aside from that, she never allowed a genuine smile cross her face when she was calm or excited; it made her look weak, childish; and weak was something a princess was not supposed to be.

She narrowed her eyes to the right: sitting next to her, leaning on the thick tree trunk just as Azula was, was her knife-wielding companion Mai. To her left was the chi-blocking acrobat, Ty Lee. On some level, Azula cared for them both, though she was reluctant to call them "friends"; friendship was something that had to be built on trust and care, both of which were things that she couldn't give. Trust was something that she didn't easily give away -- in her mind, the two were simply her partners until they betrayed her.

Or at least, that's what she told herself, since she was so convinced that Mai and Ty Lee were just staying with her until they realized they were on the "wrong" side; after all, they couldn't actually _like_ her, could they?

She paused her thoughts to glance at the two other girls again; Mai had a content look on her face, and Ty Lee was smiling genuinely, eyes wide with interest as she watched the sun setting ahead of them. The gymnast quickly noticed the troubled look on her friend's face, however, and leaned forward slightly, opening her mouth to ask what was wrong -- but Azula shook her head, silencing Ty Lee with a small smile.

Maybe they were her friends; maybe they weren't.

All Azula knew was that it had never felt so good to feel weak.


End file.
